Caitlin TOOK OVER Toronto — And Sophie SHUT UP the Haters

Caitlin TOOK OVER Toronto — And Sophie SHUT UP the Haters

I love your Canadian accent. It’s awesome. It was Caitlin Clark mania in Toronto and yes, that’s how you pronounce it. Caitlin and the fever made their first trip to the Great White North. Fans lined up for kilometers outside Scotiabank Arena, home of the Raptors. I believe it’s the 21st time a team has upgraded their arena for Caitlin.

 And before what would be a record setting night, the Fever players were having fun with their northern exposure. First, you had Caitlin and Sophie and Lexie trying out Canadian snacks. Personally, I would have gone for  a Crispy Crunch and a Mott’s Clamato. And while Sophie embraced Canadian cuisine, the Canadians didn’t embrace her. They gave her the business.

And the way she handled it, chef’s kiss. Just wait. But before the on-court hostility, there was a warm moment with the press. Caitlin was asked about her legacy and impact. And everyone in the Caitlin Clark resistance should take notes.  When you think about your own legacy and when people use the words like Caitlin Clark effect, what do you want that to mean when people think back on your legacy as a player?  Yeah, I mean like I hope at the end of the day like a lot of my favorite players growing up like I don’t know how many points they

ever ended up scoring or I don’t know how many three-pointers they made. I hopefully it’s just the impact that you can leave on people and the way you made them feel and I think that’s kind of been the story of my career and I hope, you know, when I’m done playing one day that’s what people remember the most about me is the way I’ve been able to unite people to cheer on basketball and love the game or bring people together to, you know, love a sport in a way that they’ve maybe never have before.

 Like there’s so many people that have come up to me and been like I’ve never watched women’s basketball before and I don’t take offense to that. Like I think that’s a really cool thing to, you know, bring people in that have maybe never experienced something that I’ve loved all my life and so I I I hope, you know, when I’m done that’s probably the the biggest thing that I’ll probably look back on my career and be proud of is just the amount of people that I’ve been able to bring in and enjoy the game that I’ve always loved since I was a young kid.

 Embracing new fans, not getting upset that they haven’t been watching since day one. Who knew it was that simple to grow the game and Caitlin knows a thing or two about that. The Fever’s  game against the dream drew a record 2.6 million viewers on ESPN and I believe it peaked at 4 million.

 And yes, that means a record audience watched Angel miss that tap in. Ouch. And with a large viewership expected for this game, everyone was expecting to tune in for a bloodbath. The Fever were on a four-game win streak gunning for the third seed. Caitlin has been on fire, recently named player of the week for the fourth time this season, the most of any player.

Like the video and drop an MVP in the comments to say congrats. Kelsey Mitchell, even though last game she needed that Angel Reese last second miss to force overtime  to get to the 20-point mark for the 19th straight game, she’s been scorching hot. We had KK starting again. The Fever are 5-0 when she does.

 Meanwhile, the Tempo are WNBA bottom feeders going into this game with an ugly 10 and 23 record. But with Britney Sykes coming back from an 18-game  absence and Marina Mabrey in the mix, you never know what’s going to happen on the court. And we got some fireworks. But to start, the Fever came out gunning.

 Aliyah with a sweet pass to Kelsey. Then Caitlin leads Kelsey beautifully.  Then you got Caitlin with the moves for her first bucket of the game. And then she found Lexie for two giving her four points early. Must be the energy from the ketchup chips.    Anyway, it was 12-4 and the blowout seemed to be on because Kelsey  just from there turned it on.

 She hit a three to make it 16-4. But then the Tempo finally started making  some shots and the Toronto crowd started getting into it. And those cheers turned to boos as soon as Sophie Cunningham  stepped onto the court.  Pass. Scan the QR code and subscribe today for just $14.99 a month.  But wouldn’t you know it, instead of crying about it, she came back and drained a three giving all the Toronto fans the Labatt Blues.

 Anyway, the big story was Kelsey Mitchell dropping 16 in the first quarter. And in the second, it looked like this game was done. Caitlin with the step-back three. Then after Aliyah Boston says, “Get that crap dinner out of my face.” She was rewarded with a beautiful pass  from Caitlin. Kelsey Mitchell showed Angel Reese how to score on a breakaway.

Caitlin gets bumped and still gets it to go. With 48-32, this was over. But the Tempo crawled back into it. And things were about to heat up. Early in the third, Kelsey got into it with guess who, Marina Mabrey. And this is something you don’t see much from Kelsey. I mean, read those lips, “Don’t effing do that again.

” Got to love the pushback. And look at Marina, she wanted none of it. And this only fired Kelsey up. After Caitlin made a pair of threes to stop the bleeding, I mean, look at this one. She had time to hop out to Timmy’s for a double-double on that one. Mitchell took over once again. Bang, bang, and bang.

 She had 29 at the end of the third. That’s her 20th straight game with 20 points  or more, tying the WNBA record. And it’s a good thing because Caitlin was becoming a bit of a turnover Tammy, and Lexie was missing wide-open threes. But then, Kelsey disappeared. She didn’t play for the whole fourth quarter.

 And the Tempo just stayed in it and kept getting closer.    But it seemed like it was all over when Sophie nailed this three to put them up by 10 late. But then, Marina hit two threes in a row and got it within four. Now, fortunately  for the Fever, the Tempo went cold after that, and the Fever escaped with a 101-95 win.

 Not the prettiest win, but it speaks  to how good they are offensively when they need to be. I mean, Caitlin had 24 points and seven assists. Turnovers were bad, not her best game, but still MVP-level point production. And for her efforts, she became the fastest point guard  in WNBA history to reach 700 points in a season.

 Kelsey, who was gone for the  entire fourth, still finished with 29 points. Insane. And with that, we got another WNBA record. Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell have now each  scored 20 points or more in the same game 16 times this season, a single-season record for a duo.  And I want to finish with Sophie because she got a lot of hate from the Toronto crowd, but with her sharp shooting tonight, she leads the league in three-point shooting percentage.

 And if you want to hear a PR masterclass, just listen to how she addressed the tough crowd.  Sophie, you got booed a little bit tonight.  Really?  Yeah.  I was getting booed?  Especially for a lot.  But you know what? I will tell you, um I want to shout out the the Tempo crowd and the city.

 I think we’ve had so much fun. It’s my first time being in Canada. It’s a lot of our first times being in Canada. Um but the crowd was absolutely amazing and you know, I think that’s what sports is all about. You’re going to get boos, you’re going to get cheers, but just the fact that they’re so passionate, they’re loud, and they’re putting on for the city, I think it’s amazing.

 So, shout out to you guys for coming out and supporting.  Notice how she didn’t get anyone kicked out or call them disrespectful. That’s how you do it. It’s sports. Fans boo. Well played, Sophie. You got the last laugh and the Toronto fans can drown their 10 and 24 sorrows in a 24 of Brava, the beer of summer. If you’re still here, drop a trophy in the comments because you’re a winner for sticking  around.

 Thanks for watching.